by Joanne Rock
“You dog,” Jack accused simply, figuring he’d learn more from his brother’s reaction than by asking him straight out. Besides, the Murphy way was to attack first, ask questions later.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kyle lied smoothly, his blasé tone confirming he was with a woman even as they spoke.
“You’re seeing someone.”
“Can I help it that I needed a nurse after I broke my nose? Axel has the bedside manner of a Rottweiler, so it’s not like I can count on him.” On Kyle’s end of the phone, an answering feminine giggle sounded.
“You’re busted.” Jack turned as, behind him, the metal cellar door swung open and Alicia stepped outside. “But I’ll wait to gather more evidence until I interrogate you tonight after your game,” he said, tying up his call as he watched her trail her hand along a rickety rose arbor nearby.
Kyle firmed up who they needed to speak to at the call window for their passes into the locker room area after the game. Then, before they disconnected, he paused.
“Jack?”
“Yeah?” He rose from the chair, ready to finalize his plans with Alicia for the day.
Ready to discuss the problems with the property she adored.
“The whole family likes Alicia. You feel me? One mistake with her is enough.”
Jack’s eyes went to her and her sun-streaked blond waves. Her endless freckles and wide brown eyes.
But Jack saw more than her killer curves and full lips. He saw her drive and ambition. Her willingness to work hard for what she wanted in life.
“Agreed.” He swallowed hard, knowing Kyle was right. “I’m going to try like hell to get it right this time.”
Which meant he couldn’t sidestep the awkward conversations. If he wanted Alicia back in his life for good, he’d have to tackle their disagreements head-on. He pocketed the phone and waited for inspiration on how to broach a topic that might well send her running.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” she began, edging past a terra-cotta pot of basil and oregano in a well-tended container garden. Apparently the inn owners spent more time on growing herbs than on keeping a roof over their heads. “But you were looking directly at me when you said you were trying to get something right…?.”
“That was Kyle,” he explained. “My brother insisted that I be good to you.” Jack closed the distance between them. “And I assured him I would do just that.”
She cast a wary gaze up to the main house and then sidled into his arms, the scents of roses and ocean breeze clinging to her. “Yet you didn’t sleep in my bed last night.”
Heat rushed him like a full-on blitz. Being with her these last days had only increased his need for her. He would have thought that time together would take the edge off, but the hunger seemed to build by the hour.
“I was trying to—”
She pressed a finger briefly to his lips, gently halting his protest. “I know why you retreated. It was thoughtful of you, given how wound up I was last night. I stayed awake until after 2:00 a.m. reading articles online about restoration.”
Frowning, he regretted that he hadn’t already spoken to her about the shortcomings of the bed-and-breakfast.
“I didn’t notice any lights on or I would have checked on you.” He’d peered up at the seaside structure more than once, thinking about Alicia most of the night, anyhow. With an effort, he peeled himself away from her now, needing a clearer head for a discussion. “Do you have time to talk about the property now? I made a list of a few things you’ll want to take into consideration.”
With one hand, he brought out his cell phone, and with the other, he kept her close. Hitting a few buttons, he emailed the detailed write-up to her—one of the other reasons he’d returned to the boat last night. He hadn’t trusted his ability to spell everything out in person, since they occasionally argued for the sake of arguing—or for the sake of making up. This was too important for him to get distracted in the middle of an explanation, so he’d put the salient points in black and white.
“It must be a long list,” she remarked, glancing at the touch screen of his phone.
“I figured it would help me stay focused if I wrote it down. Sometimes we fire each other up when we talk.”
There had been a time when Alicia would have taken that comment as an opening to flirt with him and show him how fast she could indeed fire him up. Yet now, her posture turned rigid, her lips tightening.
“Fair enough.” She nodded. “But do you think we could save the list until after our date? I’d like to enjoy tonight without thinking about all the setbacks to my purchase of the inn.”
Surprised, he studied her expression, searching for clues to her mood. Apparently she was as eager to delay the discussion of the bed-and-breakfast as he was.
“Are you sure?” He wondered if she’d regret going to the game with him when she read his assessment later.
“Very sure. I asked for your opinion on the property and I want to hear it. But for tonight, I’d like us to just enjoy each other. No business.” She gazed up into his eyes with a mixture of hunger and wary hope.
And he couldn’t deny he felt the same way.
They’d bought themselves a reprieve for a few hours. He had one evening to convince Alicia they belonged together.
IT WAS NO SURPRISE that traveling with Jack meant flying in style.
Alicia liked the quick check-through security at the small airport at the start of their journey. And the private plane he’d arranged came equipped with a full bar and all the amenities—not that she could indulge in anything more than seltzer water with her nerves strung tight about this first official “date” with Jack. He seemed as interested as she was in testing the waters of a relationship. Which was both fun and nerve-racking.
What if dating turned into another fiasco? Another broken heart?
She shut down her worries as they buckled their seat belts for takeoff in the sleek, small Cessna. The cabin was set up with four luxurious seats facing each other, conference style. Behind where she and Jack had settled, a deep sofa nestled into the back of the plane. Not exactly a bed, but an intriguing use of space nevertheless.
Sleeping alone in the old sea captain’s home the night before, Alicia had realized how much she missed Jack. Longed for him.
Testing the leather seat now, she reclined all the way, while her seltzer water remained safely in the cup holder alongside her on a small table.
“This is awesome.” She stretched out fully, right down to pointing her toes. “Will you look at the leg room?”
“If you don’t behave, I’m going to tell the pilot that your seat isn’t in the upright position.” Jack pushed the button to lift the back of it.
“Anyone ever tell you that you’re a wet blanket?” She shivered in anticipation as her electronic chair rose slowly to where he leaned over her.
The sight of him, scent of him—everything about him made her heart beat faster. And they were all alone. On their first real date in four years.
“My younger brothers. All the time.” He shrugged as he released the button on her armrest, his shoulder brushing hers. “But I was a lot tougher on them than I am you.”
She knew that a great deal of responsibility had fallen to Jack after the family moved from South Yarmouth out to the big house in Chatham. Robert Murphy’s business interests had exploded in the early nineties, and his wife and eldest son had helped out as much as they could. That left Jack in charge of the younger boys. He’d said before that being a kid in charge of kids meant you had lots of responsibility and no real authority to back it up. No doubt that’s where his need to take charge and protect others had started. Even when his autocratic ways bugged her, she had to admit he was good at it.
He didn’t lay down the law to further his own agenda, the way her dad always had. Jack listened. He worked to come up with solutions that were fair for everyone. Except for when he left her…
Blinking back the old insecurity, she reached
out to him, sliding an arm around his neck as the plane’s engines grew louder. The growl of the motors rumbled through her, keeping pace with her racing heart. She wouldn’t let the past rob her of the present with Jack.
“Has it ever occurred to you that it wouldn’t hurt to play more and take charge less often?” Her fingers speared through the short hair at the back of his neck, the feel of him already familiar again.
A chime sounded overhead, followed by an announcement from the pilot regarding takeoff. The plane taxied down the runway, picking up speed.
“Play more?” Jack sketched his fingertips down her cheek, igniting a fluttering heat in her belly. “That might be the first time anyone has ever suggested that a Murphy male didn’t play enough. You realize we’re going to see a hockey game?”
She knew he was referring to the nonstop contests that had gone on at the Murphy household when they were younger. Speed skating on the homemade hockey pond at one end of the backyard. Swimming races in the pool. Tug-of-war battles where the whole neighborhood took sides.
“I’m not talking about that kind of play.” Her admission coincided with their liftoff, and Alicia couldn’t say which one made her heart lurch more.
Pinned to her seat by the speed of the aircraft, she felt mesmerized by Jack’s green eyes as he watched her.
“This isn’t a long flight,” he reminded her, though his hand already drifted down her neck, his fingers skimming her collarbone and just beneath the edge of her simple white blouse. “We’ll only be in the air for a short time.”
Her nerve endings danced under his touch, as if all feeling was concentrated wherever his hands went. She arched in her seat, defying the force of gravity to be closer to the source of the pleasurable sensations.
“I think we can still have some fun.” The tingled humming along her skin spread to the tops of her breasts, the sweet ache moving through her. “Haven’t you ever heard of a quickie?”
“Do you know how hard men strive not to be quick about sex?” His palm stilled over the lace of her bra. The heat in his eyes singed her.
Electrified her. The buzz traveled from her breasts to her womb, warming her sex until she squirmed in her seat.
“Surely you could make an exception, just this once.”
One minute she was pining for his touch, urging him to take her in the small, private cabin. The next he had her out of her seat belt and hoisted in his arms. He charged through the plane to the big leather sofa in back, dropping her gently onto the buttery-soft surface. Above her, he peeled off his jacket and the black T-shirt he wore beneath it. He jammed a finger to a button on the panel overhead, dimming the lights throughout the cabin. His hands went for the buckle on his pants before he even lay down, drawing her gaze to the bulge beneath his fly.
“I guess that’s a yes,” she mused, tugging a creamy chenille afghan closer as she watched him undress the rest of the way.
Naked, he was a sight to behold. Layers of muscle roped together, every inch of him sleekly molded into a perfect male specimen. She didn’t have long to look, however, before he fell on her with a hunger that surprised her. He feasted on her mouth and neck, drugging her with thorough kisses that left her breathless, while his hands made fast work of removing her clothes.
Beneath her, the plane engines droned and vibrated, drowning out everything but Jack as he rolled on a condom and stretched over her, his big body covering hers completely. The ache between her legs turned sharp, her hips arching to get closer to him. He answered by spreading her thighs with one of his own, providing a counterpressure to the sweet need inside her.
He cupped her bottom, drawing her to him without entering her. Her breasts pebbled tight against his chest until he edged away enough to take one in his mouth, suckling her hard. She rode his thigh, her sex slick and so ready for him that she reached between them to circle his erection with her hand. Gently at first. Then harder. Firmer.
The growl in his throat warned her she wouldn’t have to wait for him much longer. He gripped her hand, halting her movements and prying her fingers free.
Being submissive was deliciously easy when she realized how much her touch affected him. Besides, she wanted him inside her when he came. Needed that connection with him.
“Ally.” He grasped her wrists and trapped them against the sofa above her head. Staring down at her for a long moment, he positioned his hips just right to…
“O-o-h!” she cried when he entered her, the sensation so incredible she wanted it to last forever. But each moment of satisfaction led to new hunger, the sensual need spiraling higher and higher with every long, slow thrust of Jack’s hips.
The pleasure built. Coiled. Tensed. Built some more. He worked her so thoroughly, so fervently that when he released her wrists to wrap her in his arms, she couldn’t move, her body paralyzed by pleasure and anticipation of what would come next. An orgasm waited, so close. She wanted it desperately and at the same time didn’t want it to ever arrive. Being here like this with Jack was the most perfect time she could ever remember.
What if they could be like this always?
A starburst exploded behind her eyes right before release hit her. Her body contracted, squeezing him tight, again and again. She arched into him, hauling him closer to ride the wave of sensations with her. He followed right behind her, his hips straining against hers.
Filling her.
Alicia lost track of time, tangled with him in the aftermath. The big leather couch fit both of them easily. At some point she covered them with the chenille afghan to ward off the chill of the plane’s air-conditioning.
Jack was as quiet as her afterward. Because he’d been shaken by the connection they’d found again so quickly? Or because he wasn’t ready for the feelings lovemaking could inspire? She didn’t know. She wasn’t sure she could answer those questions for herself, let alone him. She had no idea what was happening between her and Jack, but whatever it was, the magnetic force was too strong for her to ignore, too difficult to turn away from.
When the quiet began to worry her, she dropped a kiss on his shoulder.
“You have a real way with a quickie,” she confided, hoping to move things to lighter, more manageable terrain.
“I want to make you happy.” The words felt genuine and deep compared to her flip flirtation.
Her throat burned at the sincerity in his eyes. She tried to swallow past it and couldn’t. Only a few days of having Jack back in her life and he’d sucked her in like quicksand—so deep that she wasn’t sure she’d get away.
She wasn’t sure she even wanted to.
“You do,” she admitted, hoarseness in her voice betraying more than she was comfortable sharing. “Thank you for bringing me to Montreal.”
She hadn’t realized until she saw him again how much she’d missed him. How unfinished things had felt between them. Moreover, maybe she’d needed some time to play, too. She’d been working so hard on achieving her dreams—saving every dollar to buy an inn she could call her own—that she hadn’t spent much time relaxing and having fun.
Before he could respond, the tone chimed again on the plane’s PA system and the pilot made an announcement about landing. Over her shoulder, Alicia could see the city of Montreal below them. The Saint Lawrence Seaway snaked alongside the buildings, a myriad of bridges stretched out like tentacles across it.
They both wanted tonight to be all about enjoying each other—no business—and Jack seemed determined to deliver. But as her heart thawed like a creek in spring, Alicia wondered how she would survive a night of Jack Murphy at his most attentive and charming. Without the barriers of business and the future to shore up her defenses, she ran the risk of falling in love all over again.
11
AN HOUR LATER, Jack passed Alicia her ticket for their rink-side seats while he lingered with his youngest brother for a few more minutes. They’d been able to visit with Kyle and Axel briefly before the match, hanging out with them while they had their skates sharpened
and personally taped their sticks. But now, as Kyle headed toward the locker room, Alicia took her leave and Axel was called into a meeting with one of the trainers.
Jack didn’t bristle too much when she hugged his brother goodbye. After all, Alicia had been friends with Kyle and Axel before Jack had met her. But damn. His feelings toward her were as possessive now as they had been when they’d been dating. Possibly more so. What was wrong with him?
“Geez, bro. Do you have to wear your heart on your sleeve like a neon sign?” Kyle observed as Alicia walked away, her golden-blond hair brushing her lower back in tousled waves she hadn’t quite tamed after they’d made love on the plane.
Still, Jack couldn’t pull his gaze from her. Another player held a door for her as she walked out of the secured corridor where the team prepared for the game. The guy—a defenseman who towered over her—didn’t quite drool as she passed, but the bastard’s eyes followed her almost as long as Jack’s did.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He pinned the defenseman with a steady look after the other player lumbered to a bench in front of his locker.
No sense letting the Russian behemoth think that Alicia was available.
Only a handful of guys had made it into the locker room so far, most of them still busy prepping their equipment for the game. And the locker room wasn’t some sweaty, tile-covered cave like in high school. Here, the visiting team could hang out comfortably on padded leather benches, with carpets on the floor and the walls painted and decorated with clippings from highlight moments in the National Hockey League. The players didn’t really even undress at this point, since they still had on some of the gear from their morning skate. They spent more time taping thumbs or ankles, noses or hands, depending on what body part they’d broken most recently in a notoriously rough sport. Hell, they had a doctor on call for intermission stitches.
Today, Kyle’s broken nose wasn’t taped, but his two black eyes were witness enough to the injury. One eye was bloodshot from a broken vessel. But he blended well enough with the rest of his team, the whole group a mass of scrapes, bruises and crooked noses.
